If you are an entrepreneur, you know that you are the driving force of your business. All your team, your clients, your suppliers and your family rely on you to make things work and bring home the sale so you can keep running your business and keep serving your clients as only you can do.

However, many entrepreneurs like me don't come from a sales background and make common mistakes that are costing them hundreds of thousands of dollars every month. In this article, I am going to show you the mistakes entrepreneurs make all the time -- and how I've turned those mistakes into opportunities.

Common Mistake 1: Not Having A Clear Sales Process

Many entrepreneurs, being the driving force of their small business, forget to create a clear sales process. Because they are the creators of the business, it's easy for them to have meetings and sell their products or services. However, the lack of a clear sales process and the use of a sales CRM to keep track of conversations, meetings and potential new leads keep them stuck in getting only the hot sales, often forgetting about potential customers that need more nurturing.

I used to make this mistake in our business, and when I created a great sales process and started using a sales CRM, I immediately realized I was leaving tens of thousands of dollars on the table every month -- and we doubled our net income in 30 days.

Action 1: Map your sales process and use a sales CRM daily.

Common Mistake 2: Forgetting To Follow Up

It has been said that 80% of sales are made from the 5th to the 12th contact. Even though this statistic cannot be verified, I can tell you from my own experience that I get many more clients when I consistently follow up.

You can understand how much the lack of follow-up can cost you if you don't have a process in place. We all know that acquiring a hot lead has a cost of time and money. If you forget to follow up, therefore, your marketing costs will skyrocket.

However, with a strong follow-up process, you may be able to cut your marketing costs, need fewer leads and increase your revenues as much as by 80%. Once I understood this statistic, I immediately created my follow-up process.

Here is a map of the process we follow in our business to increase our weekly sales:

This is why, with a small database, we were able to create a reasonably successful company.

Action 2: Create your own follow-up process.

Common Mistake 3: Forgetting To Ask For Referrals

I believe there is nothing better than the feeling of making my customers happy. And I believe that I can make many more customers happy.

As I mentioned on point No. 2, acquiring new leads will cost you money and time. However, if you offer a service your clients rave about, then they will be happy to make connections and introductions for you.

A referral is worth more than a new lead from another source because they already trust the person who made the connection. You immediately step into their circle of trust with no effort. And, as you know, that trust is the most important component for closing a sale and getting a new client on board.

Now the big question is: When is the best time to ask for a referral and a testimonial?

According to international sales trainer Tom Hopkins in the best selling book, When Buyers Say No, the best time to ask for referrals is immediately after the sale and whenever the client makes a positive comment about the service you delivered.

After every sales conversation, we ask our clients to give us a few names of people that could benefit from what we offer. Also, every few months, we touch base with them and, when they say how happy they are, we ask again for few names. In this way, the marketing costs needed for getting one client can potentially bring many more clients to us without spending additional time or money.

Action 3: Contact your existing clients today and ask for referrals.

In conclusion, if you want your business to be more profitable with less work, stop leaving money on the table and create a clear sales plan. And remember, your sales plan will be in constant evolution. New technologies and ways to interact with your clients will make possible to get sales in ways we can't even imagine right now.